One Health is the collaborative effort of multiple disciplines working locally, nationally, and globally to attain sustainable optimal health for the ecosystem*. It is a cultural and behavioral concept with socioeconomic elements and impact.

*a biological community of living organisms (humans, animals, plants, and microbes) and their physical environment interacting as a system

Dean Eleanor M. Green's Thoughts on the Future of Veterinary Medicine

Originally posted in the 2016 October Dean's Corner.

At College Hour on Sept. 23, I presented “The Future…” and
addressed some of the current challenges and opportunities our
profession will face in the future. Our future, as veterinarians,
relies on relevance and resilience. Increases in global population,
consumption of animal protein, prevalence of zoonotic diseases, and
changes in ecosystems means that veterinarians will be more
relevant than ever before. The question we must ask ourselves is
“Can we be resilient?”

The exponential changes we are seeing in technology mean that we
cannot stand by idly; instead, we must adapt and embrace new
technologies. Virtual reality, wearable activity trackers,
digitized anatomical models are just a few technologies that will
transform the veterinary profession and veterinary education.
While this may seem frightening, it is also an opportunity to
learn, grown, and improve.

Who better to lead this change than the people of this great
college? If we don’t do it someone else will. As Aggies, we can
face these challenges head on, and we have to be open to risk. We
have a support system like no other, making Texas A&M the ideal
place to innovate and adapt. The transition will be hard, but it
will be hard at Texas A&M.